


grasshopper

by Fynx



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Communication Failure, Disabled Character, Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 08:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fynx/pseuds/Fynx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bifur is a gentle soul, and would not have anything stand between him and that creature who is certainly not a dwarf, but travelling with them. Despite this, he manages to offend him, and goes to make it all better again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	grasshopper

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I sure do hope I am not offending anyone with this. As I have understood it, Bifur's disability stemming from the axe is mainly that he can't speak/understand Westron anymore, so any time the others speak it, he would hear only garbled nonsense. I tried to show that. Also, I think he often... is not quite in the now.  
> English is not my mother tongue, so I apologise for stupid mistakes. // EDIT And just after I posted this fic I read somewhere that actually he lacks the ability to speak common tongue, but does understand it. Then I would like to apologise for being misinformed, but I still like this idea of everyone else saying nonsense to his ears, so I'll keep this up, I suppose. Let's just say it's an AU where he's lost the ability to understand Westron as well.

„Kahl tahe ouf maauhel ahe?“ 

Bifur looked up at the odd one who had obviously just talked to him. He was not a dwarf, that was clear, but nobody had wanted to explain to him _what_ he was, so he simply refered to him as the odd one when thinking about him. Bifur liked his feet, he always walked barefoot and he would have wanted to do so as well, wanted to feel the grass beneath his feet, the soft earth, wanted to- 

„Zhaulk kwaaan ilk fouri ay tel?“ the odd one asked.  
Bifur smiled, hoping the odd one would understand. Oh! There was a small grasshopper next to one of the small one's feet. Hopefully he would be careful not to step on it. Grasshoppers were very precious little things. He remembered one day in spring, when he'd been at most thirty years old, and he had caught one of them just outside of Erebor. He had not caught insects for many decades now. Insects wanted to be free as well. 

„Banmal kuhkoo.“ said the odd one. Helplessly, Bifur looked over to Bombur, but could not expect any help from him, since he was bowed low over the cooking kettle. He looked around, and could not see either Bofur nor the nice tall man who could actually speak Khuzdul. The odd one tried to talk with _him_ , and he didn't want to disappoint him. Still, his words did not make any sense to him, and now the odd one shifted, and Bifur grasped him, managing to have him stand still. Good, the grasshopper had not been hurt underneath those huge feet. He smiled brightly at the odd one.  
Such a frail being. He should not have been forced to come with them. 

The odd one looked at him quizzically. Oh! He didn't understand Bifur? Yes, that was possible. Often, dwarves did not understand him. And this one was not even a dwarf. He looked down, and hoped the odd one would follow his gaze, and then bowed low to pick up the little insect from between the odd one's toes. He straightened again, and showed it to the odd one. 

Then Bifur was distracted, and before he knew it, the odd one had taken the grasshopper from him. No! It was not meant as a gift, this was a horrible gift! He had just wanted to save the animal. Oh, what must that one think of him now? Did he think him a horrible dwarf who would present his friends with insects instead of proper gifts? He must! Bifur felt terrible, and lunged to take the grasshopper back. The odd one was obviously bewildered by that, and spoke yet again. 

„Jau kinash katook?“  
Bifur shook his head, and put the grasshopper on a stone nearby. He must have hurt the odd one by taking from him what he had surely presumed to be a gift. Bifur felt even more terrible. He was destroying everything. He looked around frantically, but found nothing worth of a gift to give to the odd one instead, and then hung his head in shame and trotted away. 

The odd one followed him, and spoke a few words with one of the younger dwarves. Bifur could not remember his name, but he liked him quite a lot, and thought he should not have come either. Then he saw a fat twig lying on the ground, and picked it up. It looked vaguely like an animal, and he went to sit down close beside the fire. 

Some time after the sun had set, the nice tall man sat down beside him with his pipe.  
 _“Tall man,“_ said Bifur in Khuzdul, _“the odd one with large feet talked to me today.“_  
The tall man nodded. Bifur tried but couldn't remember his name either.  
 _“I think I may have offended him.“_ The tall man smiled amiably.  
 _“How so?“_ he asked while chewing on his pipe.  
 _“I saved a grasshopper from undern...“_ His words trailed off, because the sound of an owl pierced through the forest. He looked around and suddenly the tall man was gone and most of his companions were sleeping. Oh. He must have been _gone_ yet again. Bifur shrugged, and once again concentrated on the twig in his hands. 

By the next morning, he had finished, and the first thing he did was to go up to the odd one. It was strange, how much courage he needed, but in the end it turned out to not be difficult at all. He smiled at the odd one, and the odd one's smile was huge, so he was sure he did not resent his actions the day before.  
Bifur presented him with what he had worked on through the night. It was not perfect, far from perfect; when he'd been younger, before the injury, he had been able to make much more beautiful things, but it had to be enough. He had carved the twig into the form of a grasshopper, and inclined his head as he offered it to the odd one.

The odd one did not accept it. Instead, he spoke.  
„Thuak tak tak eeindaw?“ Bifur felt sadness well up inside him. He did not accept his apology. Oh, what a shame. Still, he was as stubborn as every dwarf, and shoved the little figurine at the odd one. Finally he took the delicate work into his hands, and that was when Bifur felt his heart leaping. He accepted his apology! Now they surely could become friends, him and this frail creature. He nodded hastily. 

_“Thenk ya?“_ said the odd one, and Bifur did not quite believe his ears. His pronounciation was horrible, but he did understand him, did understand the words! Surely the nice tall man had taught the odd one how to thank someone in Khuzdul. He nodded again, and then his King's words cut through the forest, and everyone else was saddling the ponies, and soon they were on their way again.

Bifur saw the odd one putting his gift into his bag, and looked at the sky. It was a bright, blue sky, and he was happy.


End file.
